Civil Code of the Hawaiian Islands

ARTICLE III.—OF THE SHIPPING AND DISCHARGE OF SEAMEN

§129. It shall not be lawful for the master or commanding officer of any foreign vessel, or of any Hawaiian vessel engaged in foreign trade, under penalty of a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, to ship or discharge any seaman or other person employed on board of his vessel at any other port of place in the Hawaiian Islands than at Honolulu, Lahaina and Hilo.

§130. The Minister of the Interior may, in his discretion, grant to any suitable person or persons applying therefore, in writing, a license for one year to establish a shipping office for foreign seamen, at either of the ports of Honolulu, Lahaina or Hilo; provided, however, that not less than two licenses shall be granted for the port of Honolulu. And if, at any time, there shall be found to be any business connection between the parties having licenses under this law, their licenses and bond shall be forfeited.

§131. Before granting a license to keep a shipping office, the Minister of the Interior shall receive at the hands of the applicant the sum of forty (a) dollars, and also a bond with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the said Minister, in the penal sum of two thousand dollars, conditioned that he shall not charge or demand more than three dollars as a shipping fee, nor more than ten per cent of the amount advanced, as a surety fee from any seaman shipped at his office; that he will at no time make default in re-paying the amount advanced on account of any seaman for whom he may have become surety, and whom he may have failed to deliver on board of such vessel; and that he will in no case ship a seaman who has not a permit from the Harbor Master. (a) Said bond shall be executed in the presence of, and acknowledged before the Minister of the Interior, who shall forward said certified copy thereof to the Police Justice of the port for which the license is granted, and such copy shall be considered as competent evidence in any case relating to such bond.

Section 131 of the Civil Code shall be and hereby is amended by striking out the words “forty dollars” in the third line and substituting therefor the words “one hundred dollars” if the license be for Honolulu, and fifty dollars if the license be for either Lahaina or Hilo, and by inserting the following words after the word harbor master, “or contribute in any way to the infraction of the laws of the kingdom.”

§132. In every case of a suit for breach of the bond given any shipping master, the Police Justices of the port shall have jurisdiction over, and may decide the same, without the aid of a jury, subject however to the right of appeal.

§133. When the condition of the official bond of any shipping master shall be broken, to the injury of any person, such person may, at his own expense, institute a suit thereon, in the name of the Minister of the Interior, and prosecute the same to final judgment and execution.

§134. It shall be the duty of every shipping master to demand and receive the Harbor Master’s permit from every seaman whom he may ship, and place the same at the disposal of the Chief of Police at the port, and he shall also deliver to every such seaman certificate of his shipment, stating the name of the ship on which he is engaged to serve, and the time at which he is to render himself on board.

§135. Whoever, without a license, shall ship a foreign seaman, shall be subject to a fine of one hundred dollars for each offense, upon conviction thereof before a Police Justice: provided, however, that nothing in this section contained shall be construed to forbid masters of vessels to ship seamen for their own vessels, without the intervention of a shipping master.

To establish the offense contemplated in this section, it is sufficient to prove that the party charged therewith has procured the shipment of a foreign seaman as an agent, for a beneficial consideration, although he may not have demanded or received a shipping fee, or surety fee, by a percentage of the amount advanced to the seaman shipped.

§136. No commanding officer of any foreign vessel, or Hawaiian vessel engaged in foreign trade, shall discharge any seaman in any port of the Hawaiian islands, without the written consent of the Harbor Master of such port; nor shall any Consul, or Vice-Consul, or Consular Agent, grant his consent to the discharge of any such seaman until the written consent of the Harbor Master has been first obtained. Whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars, in the discretion of the Court.

§137. Upon the application of any Consul, Vice-Consul or Consular Agent, for the discharge of any foreign seaman, and upon his filing with the Harbor Master the bond of such seaman, in the penal sum of one hundred dollars, conditioned that he will leave the kingdom within sixty days from his discharge, and will not be guilty of any breach of the laws during his stay on shore, said Harbor Master may, if he sees no good reason to the contrary, give his consent to such discharge, and grant a permit to the seaman to remain on shore for sixty days. The seaman’s discharge shall be written at the foot of every such permit, and the Harbor Master shall keep a record of the same.

§138. In case of Hawaiian vessels engaged in foreign trade, and vessels having no Consul resident at the port where they wish to discharge seamen, the Harbor Master may consent to such discharge, upon the application of the master of any such vessel.

§139. If at the expiration of the time allowed in the permit of any foreign seaman, he shall not have departed this kingdom, he may, in addition to the forfeiture of his bond, be treated as a deserter; provided always, that the Harbor Master may, upon satisfactory proof that such seaman is peaceably disposed, from time to time extend the period allowed for his departure, to a further sixty days, without a forfeiture of the condition of his bond.

§140. No foreign seaman regularly discharged from any vessel, shall be liable for any debts contracted by him within the period of his permit to remain in the Kingdom; provided always, that this exemption shall not apply to any period for which his permit may have been extended, beyond the first sixty days.

§141. No seaman legally attached to any vessel, while lying in any of the ports of the Kingdom, shall be liable for any debts he may contract while so attached.

§142. No master or commanding officer of any foreign vessel, or any Hawaiian vessel engaged in foreign trade, shall ship or take out of the Kingdom, on board his vessel, any native as a seaman or otherwise, for his own use or for the use of any other person, without first obtaining the consent of the Governor of the Island, or of his agent, under penalty of a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, for each offense, to satisfy which his vessel shall be liable to seizure, condemnation and sale.

§143. No application for the shipment of natives on board a foreign vessel or Hawaiian vessel, engaged in foreign trade, shall be considered legally granted until the commanding officer shall have made and executed a bond to the Governor, or his agent, in the penalty of three hundred dollars for each man, with at least one sufficient surety, to be approved by the Governor or his agent, in the following form:

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we _______, master of the ship _______, of _________, and now destined on a _______ voyage, principal, and ______, of _________, Hawaiian Islands, surety, are held and firmly bound unto his Excellency _______, Governor of the Island of ________, and to his successors in office, and assigns in the penal sum of ______ dollars, lawful money, to be levied of the said vessel, whereof the said _____, is master, wheresoever the same may be, or of our joint and several property, in case the condition herein named shall be violated.

Sealed with our seals, and dated this ___ day of ______, 18___

The condition of this obligation is that whereas the said ______, principal, having made application for the shipment of _________ natives of the Hawaiian Islands, (as sailors or otherwise, as the case may be) for the term of ______, from this date, to serve on board his vessel.

Now if the said _______, shall within _____ from this date return the said ________ natives to the Hawaiian Islands, and shall in all respects comply with the terms of their shipment prescribed in Sections 146, 148 and 152, of the Civil Code, then this obligation to be void otherwise to remain in full force and virtue.

Given unto our hands and seals at _______, in the Island of ________, the day and year first above written.

______ _______ (L.S.)

§144. The Governor of the Island to whom said bond shall have been given, shall have the power to enforce the same by suit against the obligors therein named, or either of them, or against the vessel for those use said sailors shall have been shipped. He shall also have power in case of the death of any such sailor, or for other equitable considerations, to remit the penalty of said bond, notwithstanding a violation thereof.

§145. Whenever the Governor, or his agent, shall consent to any shipping, or taking away, of any native, he shall endorse such consent upon the shipping articles of the vessel; and shall receive for each native thus shipped, or taken away, the sum of fifty cents.

§146. On the shipping of any natives to serve on board any vessel, bound on a foreign voyage, the master of such vessel shall pay to the Governor of the Island, or his agent, in lieu of the personal taxes of such native, the sum of six dollars, if the time for which he has shipped shall not exceed twelve months; and if it shall be for any period over twelve months, the sum of twelve dollars.

Provided always, that if any native shall engage on board a Hawaiian registered vessel, for a period not exceeding six months, no charges in lieu of taxes shall be collected from the master of the vessel, unless the term of his engagement on board of such vessel shall include the time of the payment of taxes; in which case, the amount of such seaman’s taxes shall be collected from the master of the vessel, and said master shall have the right to retain the amount so paid out of the wages of such seaman.

§147. Every native of this Kingdom, who has shipped in a vessel bound on a foreign voyage, the master of which vessel has complied with the provisions of the last preceding section, shall be free from all personal taxes during the period of his service on board of such vessel, and until his return to this Kingdom.

§148. No portion whatever of the expenses of shipping, or discharging native sailors, shall be paid by them, or be deducted from the share or wages due to them, but shall be paid wholly by the master of the vessel.

§149. Every sailor, whether a native or a foreigner, who shall have been employed on board any vessel, without having made a specific written agreement with the master, or shipping master, or commander of such vessel, respecting his services and wages, shall e entitled to receive compensation for his services, at the highest rate of wages paid to any person of his class on board said vessel.

§150. The Minister of the Interior shall appoint in each of the ports of Honolulu, Lahaina, and Hilo, one or more agents, in whose presence, or in the presence of whose deputies, all native seamen of this Kingdom shall be shipped, discharged and paid off.

§151. Every such agent, before entering upon the duties of his office, shall give a bond to said Minister, in the penal sum of two thousand dollars, with good and sufficient sureties to be approved by said Minister, conditioned that he will honestly and faithfully discharge all the duties of his office. Every such agent shall hold office for the term of two years, but may be removed at any time by the Minister of the Interior.

§152. When any native seaman is discharged from any whale ship or other vessel engaged in foreign trade, the master thereof shall, previous to settlement with such seaman, exhibit to the agent appointed by the Minister of the Interior, or to his deputy, a detailed account of the debts incurred by said seaman to said vessel, and the amount of wages earned by said seaman, which account shall, if required, be verified by oath, to be administered by the said agent.

§153. It shall be the duty of the agent appointed to superintend the shipping and discharging of native seamen, upon the request of any such seaman, to render him all the assistance in his power in making his agreement as to service and wages, with the master of the vessel with whom he is about to ship, and to see that his name is duly entered on the crew list and shipping articles of such vessel, in conformity with the laws of the country to which she belongs.

§154. It shall not be lawful for said agent to ship any native seaman for a longer term of service than two years.

§155. It shall be the duty of said agent to keep all bonds for return of native seamen, as provided in section 143; and upon the expiration of the term specified in said bond for the return of any such seaman, it shall be his duty to forward such bond to the district attorney of the island where he is located, and at the same time notify him that its term has expired. Said district attorney shall prosecute the same within twenty days after receiving it, unless instructed to the contrary by the governor of said island.

§156. In case of the death of any native seaman during the voyage, said agent shall be empowered, in his own name, to demand, sue for, and receive the wages due said seaman, and to pay it over to his legal representatives.

§157. Said agent, in case of any difficulty with the master of a vessel in relation to the settlement of his account with any native seaman, shall be at liberty to call upon the district attorney of the island where he is located, for his assistance, and said attorney shall render his assistance free of charge.

§158. The compensation of said agent shall be fifty cents for each seaman shipped or discharged before him, and two and a half per cent on the amount paid to each seaman; which compensation shall be a full satisfaction for all services rendered. Such compensation shall be wholly paid by the vessel, except the two and a half percent commission on the amount paid to each seaman.

§159. No shipment or discharge of, or settlement with any native seaman, shall be binding upon him unless done in the presence or with the written sanction of the agent appointed by the Minister of the Interior, or of his deputy.

§160. It shall be the duty of every such agent to make a quarterly report of the transactions of his office, together with the amount of fees and commissions received by him, to the Minister of the Interior.

§161. The master or owner of every ship or vessel under the Hawaiian flag, arriving from any foreign port, or from sea, at any port of the Hawaiian kingdom shall, before such ship or vessel is admitted to entry, render to the collector of such port, a true account of the number of seamen who have been employed on board since the last entry at any Hawaiian port; and pay to said collector at the rate of twenty-five cents per month for each and every seaman so employed, which amount such master or owner is authorized to retain out of the wages of said seamen.

§162. The master of every coasting vessel employed in the carrying trade between the different ports, roadsteads or harbors of the Hawaiian Kingdom, shall render quarterly to the Collector General of Customs, or to any collector under his directions, a true list of all seamen employed by him during the preceding three months; and pay to said Collector General, or collector, at the rate of twenty-five cents per month for each and every seaman so employed, which sum said master is authorized to retain out of the wages of such seamen.

§163. The returns required in the preceding sections shall be made under oath in such manner and form as the Collector General may prescribe. If any owner or master shall make a false return, he shall be deemed guilty of perjury, and be punished accordingly. He shall also be subject to the penalty of one hundred dollars, for the benefit of the fund hereinafter created, and his vessel be liable to seizure, condemnation and sale, to secure the payment of such penalty.

§164. The several collectors shall make a quarterly return of the sums respectively collected by them under the foregoing provisions, to the Collector General, who is required to pay over the same, with such amount as he may have received from masters or owners of vessels, into the public treasury; to be held solely as a “Marine Hospital Fund,” for the relief of sick and disabled Hawaiian seamen. The Minister of the Interior is hereby authorized to provide out of the same, for the temporary relief and maintenance of such seamen, in such manner as he may deem proper, until hospitals, or other suitable institutions, are established for that purpose within the kingdom.

§165. Whatever surplus of moneys collected under the foregoing provisions may remain, after defraying the expenses of such temporary relief and support, shall be invested in exchequer bills, or other government securities at the discretion of the Minister of the Interior, until a sufficient fund is accumulated for the purchase of a proper site for a marine hospital, and the erection of suitable hospital accommodations for seamen, when it shall be his duty to apply such fund for that purpose. Said Minister is authorized to receive at any time, in the name of the government, donations of land, money or other property for marine hospitals; and the same shall be set apart and applied only to that object.

§166. If a general or other hospital should be established in any of the seaport towns of the Kingdom, the Minister of the Interior may, at his discretion, contract with the same to apply any part of the marine hospital fund to the support thereof, on condition that full provisions is made for the accommodation, relief and maintenance, of sick and disabled Hawaiian seamen.

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